


Of Panda Flats, Mint Chip and Babbles

by NoDecaff4Me



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family, Ficlet, Fluff, Hiatus is Hard, Post-Season/Series 05, changes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-28 07:06:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11412795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoDecaff4Me/pseuds/NoDecaff4Me
Summary: Felicity and Oliver have finally sorted out their differences and are moving on. Moving into a place of their own to start their future together. Somehow, however, Felicity's past is still haunting her in the form of a very old pair of shoes she hasn't seen or wore in years...





	Of Panda Flats, Mint Chip and Babbles

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo - this started with a simple convo on twitter. People were discussing whether some of Felicity's quirks or habits should just die in fics.  
> That lead me to post a very heated counter-opinion that wasn't very well received by some people. Truth be told I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. Everyone is allowed to their own opinions... However, this is me making my point about that.  
> I hope you'll like it.

 

 

If someone had told her a year ago that she’d soon be unpacking boxes in her and Oliver’s new home, she’d probably considered them deluded, while in silence hoping that they were right and she was the deluded one.

Yet here she was. Carrying the last box of her shoes into their huge walk-in closet. It had been one of the things she immediately fell in love with the first time they had walked into that beautiful townhouse just a little bit outside of Star City.

It had been their 13th attempt to find the perfect to start their journey together anew and truth be told, she had almost given up on finding one by the time they had walked into this place not even 5 months ago. Now it was and they couldn’t have picked a more perfect home for themselves.

Oliver and her had endless discussions about it and while both of them had agreed very soon that staying in the loft was not an option for both of them, it just holding too many memories that would only get in the way of a fresh start she had stood very firm on staying downtown and someplace near the bunker, whilst Oliver wanted to nothing more than a house that was similar to the one back in Ivy Town.

They had spent endless nights discussing the matter, but the only thing they had both managed to agree on was that staying in the Loft was not an option. Too many bad memories haunted the place for any of them to live a happy and peaceful life together. Unfortunately, her and Oliver had very different ideas of what their future home should look like.

While Felicity insisted on staying somewhere downtown close to both the Bunker and his office Oliver seemed to be trying to find house like the one in Ivy Town. But all of their discussions and her countless nightmares of slow cookers and dull weekend brunches with neighbors were long forgotten the moment they both set foot into that very spacious and open ground floor of that gorgeous three-storied stone built urban villa.

They had both immediately fallen in love with the place. It was perfect.

Located a little outside of town, but still close enough for them to get to their headquarters within 20 minutes or less. A standalone townhouse with a large garden in the back, which provided enough privacy for them and the open floor plan was just what Felicity had envisioned. There were five bedrooms and 3 bathrooms so they would never run short of rooms in the near future, which was something Oliver had told her with an infectious grin on his face that made Felicity’s heart beat faster and butterflies making somersaults in her stomach.

It had taken her just half an hour to place an offer with the realtor. She was done waiting. _They both_ were done with waiting for their future to finally begin.  

She sat down the box on the bench in the middle of the closet and opened it.

“What the…?” Felicity furrowed her brows and stared down at the pair right at the top of the otherwise mostly boxed pairs of shoes.

She hadn’t seen that specific pair in years. In fact, she was almost certain she had thrown them out the first time she had sorted and packed her things two years back when they had moved to Ivy town and she certainly hadn’t put them in a carton box this time.

“Oliver.” she chuckled as she grabbed them out of the box and walked out of the closet.

Felicity stepped out of the bedroom, their new bedroom in their new home, and followed the low voices and chuckles that came from the living room. She followed the sound as a smile curled up on her face.  Obviously, Oliver and William were up to something downstairs and the simple fact that she would be hearing more of that in the future filled her heart with more joy and happiness then she had felt in over a year.

She found the two of them sitting on the floor in front of the sofa, both looking at the huge TV screen on the opposite wall.  Their faces were filled with absolute glee as they watched an old video. It was footage from the belated birthday party her, John and Roy had arranged for shortly after their return from Lian Yiu after they had defeated Slade Wilson and Isabel Rochev all those years ago.

It had just been the four of them, eating Chinese from Felicity’s favorite restaurant, the one where they always got amazing service after Oliver sweet talked the owners in perfect Mandarin.  They were simply drinking, laughing and telling each other funny stories from their pasts. It was one of the evenings she still thought about a lot, a memory she held close to her heart.

Like always, Oliver must have sensed her presence before could announce herself. He pressed pause and looked up in her direction. “Hey!” he motioned for her to come closer and sit down with them and she didn’t hesitate and took the invitation.

“What are you watching?” she asked as she sat down on the floor beside the two.

“Dad is showing me old videos of you, Dig, Aunt Thea and Roy. They’re funny! You need to see them too!” William responded as he tried to grab the remote from his father’s hand. Oliver pulled away just in time and looked at the shoes she had placed in her lap.

“Oh. You found them.” he chuckled and tugged her closer to him and ran his fingers along her neck in little circles that made her shiver.

“I’m pretty sure I threw them away two years ago.” she cocked her head to the side and smiled back at him.

“I know. I pulled them out of the old-clothes bag.”

“I don’t even wear them anymore.” Felicity looked confused and a little bewildered, knowing he very much appreciated her style in clothing these days and panda flats really didn’t fit that anymore.

They were the second pair of shoes she had bought after she had moved to Star City all these years ago. Back then they had fit her image perfectly, but that girl was long gone just like her mix-and-(sometimes not so much)-match wardrobe.

“I know....” Oliver responded as he took them into his own hand and looked at them before he locked eyes with hers “They just reminded me of our history and how far we’ve come together. I just didn’t want to let go of them just yet.”

“Are those pandas?” William asked from the side and leaned over to get a better look at the two clothing items in question “They’re cute.” the 12 year old concluded and looked at her. .

“I think so too.” Oliver agreed immediately, both of them now looking at Felicity, who didn’t even try to cover the eye rolling as they ganged up on her.  It had become an annoyingly endearing, and very frequent, thing to watch over the last few months since they all came back from Lian Yiu.

Every time she watched the two of them growing closer, she let herself forget under what circumstances they had reunited. It was a gift. This little boy was a gift, just as much as the man at her side.

She had been scared at first. Afraid that William might not like her, that he wouldn’t accept her as a constant in Oliver’s life. That he had embraced and welcomed her in his world so effortlessly was one of the most elating and overwhelming experiences she had ever had.

“Yeah, they’re _were_ cute alright. When I bought them, 5 years ago.”

“Why don’t you wear them anymore?” William asked in honest confusion. “I like them.”

“Well. People change and so does their style in clothing…” she tried to explain before she trailed off at a certain glint in Oliver’s eyes.

“I still remember the first time I saw you wearing these.”

“Sure. Because I was tied up,” she shrugged “and not in the good way… Not that there is a good way. I mean not that I mind you…”

Felicity started to cough as the words that just seemed to tumble out of her mouth caught up with her brain and Oliver looked at her with raised eyebrows.

It was Oliver’s turn to cough then, staring at her with wide open eyes, mouth agape as a mixture of shock and total amusement flashed over his features.  Felicity turned beet red when she realized she had just said that out loud and covered her face with both hands.

“Wow! I am going to pretend you didn’t just say that.” William huffed with mild disgust and shook his head “You were right, Dad. She really has no filter.”

“Hey!” Felicity exclaimed in mock outrage, trying hard to hold back the laugh that threatened to escape at his honest statement. She really still had a problem with that at times “It is way better than it was a few years ago.”

“Obviously.” William deadpanned and snatched the remote from his father and pressed play on the almost forgotten video.  Felicity began to watch herself telling all three men about the time she wanted to be dental hygienist which, in the tipsy state she had been by then, suddenly turned into something completely different after a snark comment from Roy…

“OK!” Felicity took a leap forward and turned off the DVD player before things really went downhill in the video “Enough with the sentimental memories!”

“I’m gonna need some ice cream after that.” She stood up and walked away over to the open kitchen area.

It didn’t take long for both men to follow her, neither even trying to hide their all too obvious amusement as they worked together until three bowls were filled with ice cream and a healthy amount of whipped cream and sprinkles.

“Hey Felicity?” William looked over as he sat down beside her at their table.

“Hmmm?” she looked up from her bowl in front of her, just about to dip her spoon into her favorite treat.

“As tastes change with the years, does that mean I get to have the rest of the mint chip?” the young boy looked at her with huge puppy dog eyes. She chuckled at that sly and clever attempt to steal her favorite treat away from her.

“Tastes may change, young Padawan. Mint chip is just common sense.”

The entire kitchen filled with the sound of loud laughter then as all three of them at once dug their spoons into the other’s bowl until all three were empty.

Many things might have changed over the years. She might have changed a lot, but there was that one thing that would always remain a constant.

_Oliver._

He was her home and she was his and the chance to share that with William made it even better.

They were finally home.

**Author's Note:**

> So, what did you think? Let me know and leave a little feedback (and Kudos of course…)  
> Also you can find me on Twitter @NoDecaff4Me. Come say hi! Drop me a note - I’d love to hear from you.


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